


Fear

by leafykeen



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Under the Red Hood
Genre: Character Death, F/M, Fluff, Guns, Hurt/Comfort, It's not Jason, Jason Todd Gets A Hug, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Semi graphic violence, Sickfic, jason is alive, women's intuition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:28:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21884509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leafykeen/pseuds/leafykeen
Summary: Sweet simple Jason/OFC fluff ending in the death of the Joker
Relationships: Jason Todd/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	Fear

Sophie heard a noise upstairs. It sounded like it came from her bedroom. She stuck a bookmark in her book and went to investigate. 

She opened her bedroom door to find the Red Hood standing beside the open window. 

"Jason?" She said, "what are you doing here in costume?" 

Jason removed his helmet with a sigh. It was immediately clear to her that he was not alright. He looked sickly pale, and even more tired than usual. "Not feeling great," he said, his voice sounding irritated, "I didn't want to be alone." He frowned suddenly. "Is it okay that I'm here?" 

Sophie smiled at that. In the year or so they'd been dating, getting Jason to let her take care of him in any capacity had been an uphill battle. "It's okay. It's more than okay. How about you go take a shower. You'll relax better that way." 

Jason went to shower, and Sophie set out to find something for him to sleep in. Some digging in her closet revealed an old band t-shirt three times her size, and a pair of her brother's sweatpants that she'd borrowed and never returned. They wouldn't really fit, but they'd be comfortable enough for sleeping. 

Half an hour later found Jason tucked into bed with a mug of peppermint tea and some Tylenol. This had definitely been the right decision, he decided. Sophie had a comforting presence, without making him feel smothered like his family tended to. 

"How are you feeling?" She asked him. 

He settled back into a pile of pillows. "Better. Definitely better. Thank you." 

Sophie leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "You have your phone with you, right? I'll be downstairs, so just text me if you need anything." 

Jason sat up quickly, barely keeping from spilling his tea. "You're leaving?" 

"I'm letting you get some sleep. You're obviously exhausted, and you shouldn't try to stay up." 

Jason didn't want her to leave. "You're just reading, right? The light won't bother me. I won't stay up." He winced at how childish he sounded. Sophie looked at him skeptically, but conceded. 

"Okay, if you'd prefer." She turned on the nightstand lamp next to the bed before turning the overhead light off. Then she settled in next to Jason, laying down just enough that he could bury his face in her shoulder, but sitting up just enough that she could hold her book comfortably. She found her place again while Jason fell asleep. 

~~~~~~~ 

They stayed like that for a while, Sophie gently rubbing Jason's shoulder while he slept, pausing occasionally to turn a page in her book. 

Sophie heard a noise from downstairs, and terror gripped her. It wasn't rational. It was probably the house settling. Her house was old. It made noise. If was possibly something falling after she'd stacked things precariously. Not an uncommon occurrence. 

It was something normal. Noises at night in an old house in Gotham were normal. It was nothing to fear. 

She couldn't shake the feeling anyway. 

Sophie slowly extracted herself from Jason's grip. She considered for a moment taking his gun from where it sat on her nightstand, then thought better of it. Should she need to use it for any reason, the last thing they would need involved would be Red Hood's gun. She took her small handgun from it's hiding place and opened the bedroom door, praying it wouldn't creak. It didn't, but that did nothing to slow her racing heart. 

The hallway was dark, save for the soft rectangle of light coming from her bedroom lamp. She turned left towards the staircase. 

There was a shadow. 

Looking back later, she would be thankful for all the hours she'd spent at shooting ranges with Jason as well as her other friends. Living by herself in Gotham, Sophie knew it was wise to be able to defend herself, but somehow she'd never really believed she'd ever end up standing in her own house holding that gun. Her mind went blank and she relied solely on muscle memory as her world narrowed to include only herself, her gun, and that shadow. She planted her feet, gripping the handgun with both hands, and waited. 

It didn't occur go her to wake Jason, or to call 911, or to investigate further. All her body would let her do was wait. 

It wasn't long before a face appeared, shadowed grotesquely by the light from downstairs. Sophie recognized him immediately. 

Joker. 

He chuckled ominously at the bottom of the stairs. Sophie raised her weapon. 

"You have something I want," he said, in that horrible, raspy voice. He began to ascend the stairs slowly. 

Sophie stood her ground, only because she couldn't seem to do anything else. Her fear dictated her every move. 

The Joker stopped a few steps from the top of the stairs. "You have something I want," he said again, "something that belongs to me. I had it. I buried it, but it's gone. Someone unburied it. Took it right out of the ground where it belonged, and now I want it back. And I happen to know it swung into this very house no more than a few hours ago." He laughed again. Sophie shook where she stood at the awful sound. "I only want what's mine." 

_Jason._

He was talking about Jason! 

Sophie's world expanded to include the man she could only hope was still asleep in her bed, and she made a decision. She squeezed the trigger. 

The sound of the gun was deafening. The Joker looked surprised for just a moment before he crumpled, tumbling down the stairs. His head hit the wall at the bottom with a sickening _thud_. He was dead. _He had to be dead._

Sophie heard a gasp, and whirled around to see Jason standing in the doorway. He stared open mouthed, and suddenly Sophie came back to herself. She dropped the gun and fell to her knees in shock, gasping for breath. Jason was next to her in a moment, but she didn't acknowledge him. He was on the phone with someone she could only assume was Bruce, but she didn't listen closely enough to be able to tell. She kept all of her attention focused on the body at the bottom of her stairs. 

He was dead. 

_He had to be dead._

Still she watched. She watched fearing that the moment she looked away, he would breathe. Or move. Or turn on them again. Turn on Jason again. 

Sophie heard sirens coming nearer. 

And still she watched. Because he was dead. He had to be dead. And if he wasn't, she would kill him. 

**Author's Note:**

> I scared myself writing this! Like watching a horror movie before bed, except it was definitely all in my head. Please tell me what you think!  
> I think the ending was a little rushed, but I'm not sure how to fix it right now. I may add more in the future, but for now this is just meant to be one chapter.


End file.
